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Big agenda set for APA meeting

RAY BROOK — The state Adirondack Park Agency board will tackle a full agenda this week, including a possible decision on the Lake Flower Resort and staff reports on the Boreas Ponds tract.

Starting at 9 a.m. Thursday, the board will meet at agency headquarters in Ray Brook. The first business item is a vote on staff’s recommendation to approve the controversial Lake Flower Resort and Spa in Saranac Lake. Staff’s recommendation includes several conditions the developers would have to abide by.

The village of Saranac Lake’s Board of Trustees approved a key zoning change for the project in March 2015. The village Planning Board granted site plan approval in July of last year, and it has been before the APA since then.

The agency has jurisdiction because the building is taller than 40 feet in height and because the installation of a proposed dock requires a wetlands permit. It also needs a variance for several elements — including a corner of a restaurant, sidewalks, porches and roof overhangs, and a hot tub and deck — that are located within the agency’s 50-foot shoreline setback.

After lunch, the Regulatory Programs Committee will meet to discuss a major subdivision in North Elba that would split 590 acres into 17 lots.

The subdivision is located on state Route 73 near the Cascade Inn and is owned by Barile Family LLC. The lands are classified as resource management and contain wetlands. One of the lots, Lot A, is about 495 acres in size and will remain owned by the homeowners association. This lot is where most of the wetlands are located. APA staff has attached numerous conditions to the permit application.

At 2:15 p.m., the board’s State Land Committee will hear about Boreas Ponds.

“Agency staff will provide an overview on the guidelines for amending the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan, classification criteria and detail the physical characteristics of the Boreas Ponds tract,” a press release from the agency said. “Following a break, staff will describe the Boreas Ponds tract biological considerations.”

The State Land Committee will reconvene at 9:15 a.m. on Friday.

“Agency staff will review intangible considerations and describe established facilities and structures present on the Boreas Ponds tract as well as review retained rights and leases,” the release said. “The agency board will take no action on the classification package at this meeting.”

The Boreas Ponds classification decision will be heavily watched, as public meetings around the state on the classification drew thousands of commenters. The agency received more than 11,000 written comments on the state’s plan for the more than 20,000-acre parcel in Newcomb and North Hudson. In a panel discussion the Enterprise co-hosted Thursday, panelists from various interest groups criticized the state’s land classification process.

APA staff will also request that the committee finds SLMP compliance for the Champlain Island Complex Unit Management Plan.

To see the full agenda or read the mailing package sent out to board members, go to www.apa.ny.gov/Mailing/2017/02/index.htm.

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